So you know Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, this season's "cute healing anime" packed full of magical girls and hot transformations? Well, a few days ago episode 3 aired in Japan, making a pretty shocking revelation that this is actually a *spoiler*bloody horror anime. Scenario writer Urobuchi Gen eventually apologized for having mislead us. And just like that, my previously-mild interest in this title has soared through the roof.

A somewhat slow to surface news relays the announcement of a Macross F virtual concert hosted on Sony's PlayStation Home service, using 3D graphics. This actually seems to have been revealed one week ago, in a video program with Megumi Nakajima and Aya Endo - the voice actresses of Ranka and Sheryl from the anime adaptations. A good way to promote the 2nd Macross Frontier movie, that premieres in Japan this February 26.

A small non-controversy broke out after the first Blu-ray and DVD volume of To Aru Majutsu no Index II came out with a parody of Shinryaku! Ika Musume, as a short Index-tan anime. This was an "unauthorized" parody, like... 93.7% of all parodies ever made - not excluding some earlier fan-made MAD / AMVs with the exact same combo. But this one apparently upset some Ika Musume staffers, and led the production company PonyCanyon to express its perplexity on the loli squid's official blog (the post has since been removed and replaced with an apology, albeit the investigation of the non-issue continues between the two parties - just not in public).

The PSP2 - Sony's next generation of PlayStation Portable - will have 3G support, an OLED touch screen, a new processor for handling high resolution visuals, and various other things, reportedly. Official specs should be announced at Sony's conference this January 27, and a distinct "Playstation Phone" device is also expected to be unveiled next month.

A new English trailer for Cat Shit One was posted on YouTube by the production company IDA Entertainment (no local video, since I'm regionally locked out and cba with proxys at this hour; a Japanese trailer is fine, too!). Thus promoting this fluffy war anime's rescheduled North American release, on February 5. Along with a Blu-ray and DVD version that will be sold on Amazon, Cat Shit One will also be streamed for free on YouTube at that time. But...

"The big difference from the YouTube version and the DVD & Blu-ray feature film version is that the feature film contains uncensored original scenes, including bloody graphics for a realistic shooting scene experience that were voluntarily cut for YouTube. As a bonus feature, we have also included commentaries on the action scenes by our tactical advisor, and interviews with the production staff."

Update: It turned out to be the latter: Hulu has removed its planning for Episode 2.

Akihabara's "Pedestrians' Paradise" has finally returned, as of this Sunday. But wait, wasn't it supposed to return last July?... Or perhaps I missed something last summer... *shrug*

And just as I was about to call it a night, CNNGo has put up an article titled "Rediscovering Ikebukuro, Tokyo's forgotten district" - "an arty hotbed, home to cute maid cafes, Tokyo's unofficial Chinatown and the city's third-tallest building". If you're less familiar with that district, I say go for it, it's a short enough read.